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Residents can 'make a difference' by keeping streets clean
Columbia County is "home" to an abundance of dedicated citizens who strive to keep our streets clean. It is what many visitors will notice as they tour our county seeking a home, school, religious affiliation and/or business. A clean, litter-free street displays hometown pride, and a welcome mat for all who live or pass through "our" area.

Local flavor spices up holiday giving
With only 25 days left until Christmas, the challenge is on to find that perfect present for those on your holiday shopping list. If you want a gift that will stir memories of Columbia County, there are plenty to choose from.

Family fosters sense of caring
Many people opened their homes to friends and family this Thanksgiving with the knowledge that eventually their guests would leave, and their house would again belong only to them.

Christmas events
Brookwood Elementary School will perform its 14th annual production of The Nutcracker at 7 p.m. Tuesday and 9 a.m. Wednesday at the school. Performances are free. For more information, call 855-7596.

Can-do attitude
Chris Lane's third-grade class earned the most "turkey points" by collecting more than 800 cans of food during Brookwood Elementary School's canned-food drive for the Salvation Army.

Current events
The Southern Songmasters will sing at Bethesda Baptist Church at 6 p.m. today . The church is located between Grovetown and Harlem, just off Gordon Highway at Old Louisville Road.

Top cheerleaders
Hayden's All Star Junior Black competitive cheerleading team placed first at the Cheersport Regional, Nov. 2, in Atlanta.

Looking for lights
Are you one of those folks whose Christmas lights are so bright that they make airplanes swerve off course? Or does your neighbor set up such a big display that your home goes dim when their lights come on? If so, tell us about it; we're hunting for Columbia County's biggest holiday displays.

Police blotter
The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office.

Feathered friends
Dressed as American Indians, North Columbia Elementary School third-graders Hunter Williams (from left), Kayla McDavid and Kristin Rawlins enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner in the hallway at the school.

Time capsule
As reported 44 years ago in The Columbia News, Thursday, Nov. 26, 1959:

Retelling the 'old story'
For their Sunday school project last week, my grandchildren decorated cookies with one of four sets of initials WC, MG, EF, and PP representing the four names of the coming Messiah mentioned by the prophet, Isaiah.

Reasons for gratitude
Do you get as aggravated as I do when constantly hearing people complain about everything? The government is corrupt, the judicial system is way off balance, all teenagers are on drugs and, my personal favorite, there is absolutely nothing to watch on TV any more.

Put limits on gunfire near residences
A 10-year-old Evans boy is grazed by a .22-caliber bullet while playing in a park. Grovetown homeowners are upset about nightly gunfire from a shotgun competition near their subdivision. Evans residents worry that a neighbor's 2 1/2 acre tract in the middle of their neighborhood is used for deer hunting.

Shorten fall, or summer?
This may get complicated before it's all over with heck, who are we kidding; it's complicated now but Columbia County school officials are again seeking public input for a school calendar.

Missed opportunity on Medicare
It was nine years ago this month that the good folks of Georgia's then-10th Congressional District saw fit to send me to Washington to represent their interests and to take Georgia values and commonsense to Capitol Hill.